Supporting carers & Harrow Carers Neena Garnavos – Carers Health and Wellbeing Lead, Harrow Carers
Contents • Who is a carer? • Stats and figures • Why it is important to support carers • Progress so far • Harrow Carers – who are we? • How can we better support carers? • Quote • Cooperative working
Who is a carer? “A carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support” Carers Trust “A carer is someone who helps another person, usually a relative or a friend, in their day-to-day life. This is not the same as someone who provides care professionally, or through a voluntary organisation” gov.uk
How many – How long • 5.8 million people in the UK are carers (Census 2011) ▫ Unpaid care has increased at a faster pace than population growth between 2001 and 2011 in England and Wales • 1.4 million provide over 50 hours of unpaid care a week (Census 2011) • 2.1 million adults become carers and almost as many cease to be carers (Carers Trust) • 3 in 5 people will be carers at some point in their lives (Carers Trust)
Why is it important to support carers? • Care provided by carers is worth an estimated £132bn per year – that is more than the budget for the NHS • Evidence to suggest that well supported carers leads to improved health and social care outcomes for themselves and the people they support • Carers are at a higher risk of developing physical and mental health problems due to the burden of caring • IT IS OUR MORAL DUTY ▫ They are human beings ▫ They didn’t chose to become a carer but they do it anyway. Day in and day out
Progress so far • Care Act 2014 strengthens the rights of carers ▫ Right to an assessment of their own needs – even if the person they support is not eligible to support ▫ Right to be involved in the carer planning ▫ Legal duty of the local authority to support carers • Best Practice – NICE guidelines
Harrow Carers - Who are we? • Independent charity supporting the needs of carers in Harrow and surrounding boroughs since 1996 • We provide a range of services; ▫ Health and Wellbeing ▫ Older and young carer services ▫ Information, advice and advocacy – including welfare benefits ▫ Respite ▫ Etc …
Harrow Carers - Who are we? • Funding streams • CCG ▫ Preventative positive psychology programme ▫ Increase resilience and ability to cope ▫ Workshops, courses, information sessions and 1:1 emotional support ▫ Part of Talking Therapies ‘IAPT – Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ • Harrow Council ▫ FREE 6 week ‘carer reablement ’ package ▫ Adult carers providing necessary care to another adult
Harrow Carers - Who are we? • Reduce the need to retell story • Person-centred one stop shop to reduce carer stress • We have strategic involvement and believe in cooperative working • Improvement project – Speak to me about CLAHRC!!
How to better support carers? • Involvement • Better communication – speak to me about Carer Engagement/Awareness Training • Practical and psychological needs – refer to Harrow Carers, Harrow Talking Therapies etc … • Information provision – about services for them and the people they support • Social support
Quote “ Harrow Carers has not t only ly changed my li life fe, , it it has saved my li life fe. Before I I came in into to th the centre I I was th thin inking about ta taking my own li life fe and now I I am able le to to care fo for r my son in in th the communit ity and feel confi fe fident t th that t I I have Harrow Carers to to support t me ” Mr P
Cooperative working • Find out what is out there for carers • Link up with local authority – refer carers for an assessment of their own needs • Sign post & refer to Harrow Carers
Donate If you would like to donate to Harrow Carers to help us continue to do the wonderful things we do, please go on to our just giving pages and donate anything you can!
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